The first Argyll and Bute Secondary Schools Rugby Development Day was held in Oban last Tuesday and proved to be a huge success with seven schools; Tobermory, Oban, Lochgilphead, Dunoon, Islay Campbeltown and Tiree all taking part. The event which was organised by Argyll & Bute Development Officer Billy Thomson and Community Coach Allan Wright, who in partnership with Active Schools, School staff, local club volunteers and support by Scottish Rugby and Glasgow Warriors organised a very enjoyable day of Rugby at Oban High School and Oban Lorne RFC, the two venues.

With 28 girls and over 150 boys taking part from S1-S6 the day started with a session on the four national coaching themes in the morning which was followed by a question and answer session with Glasgow Warrior’s Johnnie Beattie and James Eddie, who were on a player visit to support community and school rugby.  They were very impressed with the standard of rugby shown by the young athletes on the day particularly the accurate passing skills that were on show from all in the boys and girls groups.

The two young Warriors were also very impressive in the way that they interacted with the players during the coaching sessions and in the clubhouse. Both were very approachable and friendly, signing many autographs and chatting to adults and children about their Rugby experiences during the question and answer session which could have gone on for hours.

The afternoon consisted of coaching on the Scrum, Lineout and positional play with the last hour reserved for games where the players put what they had learned from the earlier in the day into their performances.

At the end the players were invited in to Oban Lorne RFC’s clubhouse for a debrief and names were drawn for one of the participating schools to receive a signed Glasgow Warriors ball. This was awarded to Tiree High School who were delighted to receive it after they had to organise a two night stay and endured many hours of travel to take part.  Each school was also given a folder for each child containing an IRB Rugby Ready Booklet and several other useful pieces of information on the game which will aid them on their development. As well as this each member of staff were also handed a coaching pack and four rugby balls for each school who took part.

Huge thanks must go to all the volunteers who helped at the event, Active schools and staff members from the schools taking part, Glasgow Warriors for their input in sending Johnnie Beattie and James Eddie, Scottish Rugby for sending additional staff, the resources for the player and coaching packs and finally Oban High School who were the hosts for the day.

This event proved a great way to kick start the School Rugby season and will hopefully be repeated next year.